Embassy of the United States Tirana, Albania

Americans traveling abroad sometimes run out of funds either because of imprudence, robbery or other unforeseen circumstances.  Destitute citizens may be entitled to financial assistance, but they must demonstrate that they have no other sources of income and are unable to receive financial assistance from friends or relatives.  In the limited circumstances under which the Embassy can entertain a loan application, the repayment guidelines are strict and applicants cannot obtain a U.S. passport again until the loan is repaid.  Frequently, individuals may feel they are destitute when in fact they are simply low on cash.  Remember that credit cards, debit cards and ATM cards may also be used to obtain cash or pay bills.  Family or friends in the U.S. can send funds through the procedures described at our web page “Sending Money to U.S. Citizens in Albania.”  The role of the Embassy in such cases is to help the person contact others in the U.S. who will be able to send funds to the person in distress.

If family, friends and/or employers are unwilling or unable to wire money to a destitute U.S. citizen/non-citizen national, we may extend an emergency loan to the individual and their family members and to foreign nationals in the following three circumstances:

• Repatriation loans for destitute U.S. citizens and their family members who are outside the United States to provide for the citizen’s and family’s return to the United States;
• Emergency medical and dietary assistance loans (EMDA) for United States citizens incarcerated abroad or destitute non-incarcerated United States citizens abroad and their family members who are unable to obtain such services otherwise;
• Crisis evacuation loans for U.S. citizens abroad and their immediate family members, non-U.S. citizen adult escorts for minor U.S. citizen children, and foreign nationals who possess appropriate travel documents, including a valid visa for entry into the U.S., when their lives are endangered by war, civil unrest, or natural disaster.

In all the above cases it is required submission of Form DS-3072 (PDF 334.73 KB).  The purpose of Form DS-3072 is to process these emergency loans and to document the safe and efficient evacuation of private U.S. citizens, family members and foreign nationals from abroad.